Harnessing social media for optimal brand exposure

The Story

P5 Hits stands as a prominent radio station within the P4 Group, a subsidiary of the renowned ViaPlay Group. Every day, millions engage with their diverse streaming services, TV channels, and radio stations, making them a dominant force in the media landscape.

Dedicated to excellence, the company consistently delivers top-tier hits, programs, and shows, ensuring an unparalleled listening experience. While the P4 Group's primary mission is to captivate and entertain its vast audience, they remain deeply committed to responsible business practices. This commitment extends to fostering collaborative and accountable relationships with listeners, partners, and their dedicated team.

The P4 Group's impressive portfolio encompasses P4 Radio Hele Norge, P5 Hits, P6 Rock, P7 Klem, P8 Pop, P9 Retro, P10 Country, NRJ Norge, and the digital-forward web radio channel, P11 Bandit.

The challenge

P5 Hits aimed to elevate the visibility of their daily morning show, "Frokostshowet". Their ambition was not just to remind their existing audience, but also to captivate new listeners. To achieve this, they sought to harness the power of social media advertising, guiding potential listeners to a comprehensive landing page. This page not only provided details about the show but also facilitated direct streaming of P5 Hits and encouraged app installation.

The solution

To effectively tap into their desired demographic, a dual-platform approach was adopted, leveraging both Facebook and Snapchat. Facebook, with its vast reach of 4.8 million users in Norway across its main platform and Instagram, offered extensive visibility. Snapchat, known for its younger user base, was strategically chosen to cater to this demographic. Moreover, Snapchat's Unskippable Ads feature was utilized to ensure maximum brand recognition and engagement.

Raising awareness in Norway

The ad creatives

P5's advertising strategy employed three distinct video lengths: 20, 10, and 6 seconds. These variations were crafted not only to determine the optimal video duration for the P5 audience but also to leverage retargeting capabilities with shorter video snippets. The 6-second constraint of Snapchat's Unskippable ads further influenced the decision to create multiple versions.

Given that the P5 Hits show boasts a dynamic and engaging host, it was imperative that the ad mirrored this energy. Each ad was designed with a compelling hook—be it a facial expression, sound effect, text, or speech—to captivate viewers and halt their scroll.

Ad creative result comparison

It's worth noting that the shorter videos were exclusively presented to users who had previously engaged with the 20-second ad. This longer ad was introduced to a fresh audience, with only age and location as defining parameters (Open Broad Targeting).

The general audience, exposed solely to the 20-second video, viewed a smaller portion of it, with fewer completing the video. In contrast, retargeted ads garnered superior engagement, boasting video completion rates of 38% for the 10-second clip and 48% for the 6-second variant. Retargeting, as a strategy, significantly enhances video engagement, viewing duration, and frequency—critical metrics for brand awareness campaigns.

While the cost per ThruPlay (viewing the video to completion or at least for 15 seconds) was higher for the shorter videos due to audience selection, the data suggests a harmonious trade-off between the elevated ThruPlay cost and enhanced completion rates. In essence, while shorter ads come at a premium, they excel in driving the primary objective: complete video views.

To bolster the campaign's long-term results, TRY plans to initiate tests encompassing diverse visual elements, promotional offers, and content tailored for the retargeting audience. Enhancing the reliability of test outcomes and deriving actionable insights will involve juxtaposing the efficacy of varied visual content within identical audience segments.

Facebook Ads Insights

TTRY orchestrated the campaign using three distinct audience targeting strategies:

1. A broad Norwegian audience with only age constraints.
2. Retargeting users who viewed half of the primary ad content.
3. Retargeting users who engaged with at least 3 seconds of the remaining video content.

This structure aimed to pinpoint and engage users most likely to resonate with P5 Hits content, thereby amplifying brand recognition. The campaign amassed over 3 million impressions across Facebook and Instagram, reaching an impressive 620,000 users. Notably:

1. 27% completed the ad video.
2. 30% of those who viewed the 20-second video were subsequently retargeted.
3. 50.2% of users engaged with up to 50% of the 20-second video, indicating compelling content.
   
   

Snapchat Ads Insights

On Snapchat, TRY employed both Unskippable and Single Video ads. The campaign involved iterative testing of targeting parameters, optimization settings, and ad formats to optimize message delivery. Key outcomes include:

1. Over 1.4 million ad servings.
2. A competitive CPM aligned with Snapchat's Norwegian benchmarks.
3. A remarkable 73% video completion rate, tripling the engagement compared to Facebook.
4. 78% completion for Unskippable Ads, albeit at a premium cost.

Snapchat's unique non-skippable ad feature undeniably bolstered user engagement and brand visibility.

Advertising tools deployd

• Facebook and Instagram Feed Video Ads: Captured audience attention with dynamic video content.
• Instagram Story Ads: Leveraged full-screen story ads to engage Instagram's active user base.
• Snapchat Single Video Ads: Maximized reach within Snapchat's expansive user community.
• Snapchat Unskippable Ads: 6-second ads ensuring complete viewer attention.
  
  

Campaign Outcomes

The P5 Hits campaign adeptly engaged audiences, achieving optimal frequency and bolstering brand recognition. Key metrics include:

1. Over 4.5 million ad impressions.
2. A 73% completion rate for Snapchat's Unskippable Ads, underscoring its efficacy as a brand awareness tool when presented at appropriate intervals to an engaged audience.
3. 665,000 ThruPlays, marking instances where videos played for a minimum of 15 seconds or to completion.
4. An estimated ad recall lift of 142,700 on Facebook, predicting the number of users likely to recall the P5 Hits ads two days post-viewing.